Unusual update for two non-functioning apps: The developers of the once popular Twitter clients Tweetbot and Twitterrific have released new versions in the App Store in the hope that subscribers will forego a partial refund of the subscription price they have already paid. This gives customers a temporary option to decline a refund.
“I’m happy with what Twitterrific/Tweetbot have brought and I don’t want a refund,” the description reads. In the case of Tweetbot, the developers alternatively offer to transfer the existing subscription to their new app Ivory – a mastodon client built on top of Tweetbot.
The Twitter apps give subscribers the option to opt out of a refund.
Twitter apps: Inoperative overnight
In mid-January, Twitter deprived the two apps mentioned – as well as many other Twitter clients – of their basis of existence and thus also possible income by means of an unannounced API block. In addition, the developers are now faced with partial refunds for subscriptions that have already been paid for. The chargeback process will apparently be carried out automatically by Apple in the next few weeks. Tweetbot and Twitterrific were among the most popular third-party apps for Twitter and, in some cases, had a decisive influence on the social network in terms of functions in its early days.
Subscribers to the two apps who do nothing will automatically receive a refund for the remaining subscription time after the apps stop working. The subscriptions were billed via Apple’s in-app purchase interface, so the refund is also handled by Apple. Developers themselves cannot issue refunds for iOS apps.
Apple’s commission as a sticking point for refunds
However, the campaign also seems to be coordinated with Apple: The option of not receiving a partial refund is likely to be a novelty in the history of the App Store. In its developer contracts, Apple reserves the right to withhold its commission of up to 30 percent in the event of refunds – some developers fear that this will result in additional costs. In practice, however, the group does not seem to have made use of this for normal reimbursements and reimburses the retained commission out of its own pocket.
(lbe)
